Moneysupermarket sees FY profit at lower end of consensus range

Adjusted operating profit for the half rose to £55.2m from £53.8m in the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit came in at £49.5m from £47.1m as revenue increased 5% to £165.3m and the company upped its interim dividend to 2.84p from 2.75p.

The price comparison website said that with current trends in its energy trading, it now expects full-year adjusted operating profit to be at the lower end of the consenus range of between £112.6m and £117.4m.

Revenue in the insurance business rose 18%, with sales in the money division largely flat. However, revenue in home services declined 33%.

Chief executive officer Mark Lewis said: "We've helped more people take control of their household bills than ever before, saving our customers £1.1bn in the first half of this year.

"Insurance switching grew an encouraging 18%. However, the energy market continues to evolve and the lack of blockbuster energy deals from providers meant we didn't collectively switch as many people as last year. Our focus now is on using our tech investment to find new ways to help our customers, particularly on mobiles, and improving our everyday energy switching."

RBC Capital Markets said: "Today's results and cautious outlook demonstrate to us that price comparison can be a volatile market. However, if we look at the long-term potential for switching in all of Monyesupermarket's key verticals, we
believe that they remain attractive.

"The company is the most diversified price comparison site by product and in the long run this should help the
company to produce smoother results than more focused peers."

At 1025 BST, the shares were down 7.4% to 333p.